I'll be posting links and youtube playlist here to illustrate.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Week 5 dada, surrealism, sound, crash, depression, rise of Hitler.
This week we have a bullet list, compressing a lot of intense involved history into a very cursory sweep. Nonetheless, I'd like you to consider the massive cultural changes on each others' heels that were occurring in the relatively brief historical period covering the repercussions of WWI through the 20's and 30's and into WWII. Relating all of this to film history, and how all these events and movements shaped cinema, and its use as a new media, a vector of memes, be it Nazi propaganda, American Imperialism, entertainment, education or social activism.
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In the minds of many, Hollywood was the first (and arguably best) aspect of the film industry. Building seemingly unlimited capital was one way to further convince the public that producers and directors there had always had some sort of edge. It's interesting to learn that France and Italy could have potentially been the original film gurus, for lack of a better word. However, with the onset of the first World War, both countries were forced to send out men and fight. While they two were distracted, America was left with enough time to get a foot in the door.
After Germany's compensation to America, Germany and other European countries could hardly concentrate on film. During America's industrial revolution, new and exciting things were being created, some to help with the film process.
The introduction of Dada as a sort of subculture to the general artistic public sounds much like a cult or something similar, though their own work has been studied for its own artistic value. This and other surrealist ideas were a biproduct of the war: in protest, young artists such as Dali began producing grotesque and beautiful images.
I am truly at a loss for words after watching Triumph of the Will. I would not consider myself an observant Jew, but I am still part of the Jewish culture in that I identify with the group of people who also respond to that title. In watching this film I was given a glimpse into the German world, from the eyes of a German.
To see Leni's world was to see another planet, it can be likened to going to a Beatle's concert and seeing all the girls loose their minds. The only difference being that this was a whole country. To see all these people together, all for this one man, this one person who seemingly saved their homeland from total destruction.
I would like to take a second and discuss the wide range of emotions present in this film, not as a whole, but focusing directly on Hitler himself. There were a couple of points during this film where he looked like he hated being there, as if he was embarrassed to be seen. He kept his head low, his face, stone-straight, and never said or did more than he absolutely had to. There were parts of the film when I honestly thought I was about to see this man cry, just open up, collapse to the floor and cry for whatever reason. Then there were times when I was scared to even look away from the screen because he was so intense and so strong in what he was conveying to the crowd.
Then, there is the cinematography, which I still can't get over. In this film, I have seen some of the coolest camera work that I think, we have seen in this class so far. Between the night work, and the work with the camera at the Nuremberg rally, I was blown away, clear and simple.
During the period between WWI and WWII, cinema was found to have a profound effect on a country. This was noticed by Leni. Triumph of the will, to me, seemed less propaganda and more documentary. It could have been seen by some as propaganda, such as Germans who saw Hitler as their savior, but from a modern day perspective being surrounded by propaganda all the time, this can hardly compare. I feel Triumph of the Will was used to document the historic change in the German economy and political influence. Germany was in a time of despair after WWI and Hitler had taken the reins. Leni discovered a way in which this change, this despair, could be available to the masses. It's not a full out documentary though, as some of the cinematography was well choreographed for the speeches and strategically lit. I would render it as a mix between documentary, unintentional propaganda, and a theatre film.
Triumph of the Will was arguably one of the most powerful films created. It’s evident, that during production, Riefenstahl recognized her film’s potential to become momentous. It is also apparent that she was aware of the societal impact that the film medium was developing and the possibilities he had for conveying her viewpoints through film. The composition in many of the shots was amazing. Also, the intimacy of the close shots of Hitler seemed almost surreal.
As Leni witnessed one of the most persuasive collaborations of leaders (Hitler, Himmler, Hess, Goering, and Goebbels) take power under the Nazi, socialist identity and both financially and spiritually revitalize a country that was in ruins, she took the opportunity to exploit the occurrence in the way which she perceived it.
In contemporary society, the actions in which the Nazi’s were infamous for are reflected upon with nothing but pure atrocity, and rightfully so. However, the reality of the inhuman capability of these leaders to gain the trust of, and power over an entire nation of people should not be disregarded. I believe the conveyance of this idea was the intention Riefenstahl’s in Triumph of the Will, and the reason it was as successful as it was as a piece of propaganda.
This must have been a very intense time to be alive during. Some much stuff was going on all around the world. The introduction of Dada or Anti Art was really a revolutionary movement, It confronted classical artists with meaningful art that appeared worthless. The art of the subject was not in its form, but rather in its meaning and symbolism, although the artists say otherwise.
The big show this time was "Triumph of the Will", a Leni Reifenstahl film of Nazi Germany. This movie is definitely propaganda at its best. This movie was beautifully shot with so many angles, which baffles me that its a documentary. This professional look constructs an image of reality that many have not seen before, Germany united for Hitler. I think the most shocking element is the depiction of Germany, Its amazing that the styles of American films then were so closely related with Germany. Both countries used the same kind of propaganda to persuade its followers. In my eyes this propaganda is a very sinister method of cinematography, its severely opinionated by its creators to alter the truth, thus leaving hundreds of thousands duped into a certain way of thinking. Just to be clear I'm talking about anyone to use this method, not exclusively Germany. This was a very powerful piece of propaganda. The masses of people, the happy faces in the crowd, the united work force in a military form, the arian youth shown at the youth camp, and the pandemonium of the event. I believe that video's like this abuse the power behind the medium, at least in this case. The information provided might be true in the film, but It might only be a part of it. Overall, I enjoyed it on a cinematic front, but the morals of german society within the film are disturbing. Although I geuss looking back hindsight is 20/20.
What Dadaism and this movie have in common is a perversion of Art. Both make a unsaid statement that revolutionized the thinking of many. I believe this is what started many of the idea's behind our media today, Even in week 6 we experienced some present day propaganda. Nowadays its hard to tell truth from fiction in these kinds of videos, but just as its up to the director to choose what you see, its up to you to choose what you believe.
The decades between The Great War and World War II marked a rapid increase in material produced, as well as radically differing techniques. A great expansion in the Hollywood market created America imperialism in cinema. Frequently, people in the industry were moving towards the movement because they had high budget films. Also, the development of sound greatly affected the industry more so than films. This had more of an impact on the industry rather than the films themselves initially. The development called for industry standards and solidified the major production companies to the extent they are still the most powerful today. It amazes me how the famous production companies were able to keep such a stronghold and continue building to the point where they control so many fascists of our society today. I guess this just adds to the belief that cinema is such a powerful tool. However, while watching The Music Man I couldn’t help but feel that the film regressed compared to other films we had viewed from earlier time periods.
While Hollywood was becoming the almighty giant in cinema, this also allowed for alternate channels of underground cinema. The radical thinkers of Dada intrigued me considerably. The film the stuck out the most to me was Ghosts before Breakfast. Everything about the movie worked, from the title to the images they used. As for the movement itself, I was taking back by the levity of everyone who was involved. It seemed every innovative artist wanted their stake in the movement and all broadened the horizons of what can be considered acceptable. Their grounds were the phony over produced ascetics were hardly art because it was not true, so they completely shook this notion and created anti-art. The concepts were sometimes inaccessible but on a whole the movement connected with my feelings.
During this time period it seemed that the masses were so mystified in the cinema that governments were realizing the power they had to control their imaginations using the medium. The propaganda produced during this period served to fill that void. The propaganda by Hitler especially was used to excite and sink to the hearts of people. People were so brainwashed that they didn’t think to question anything at all. I felt like everyone was being controlled like the Pied Piper of Hamelin used his flute and the cinema was leading them to a destination. The propaganda of this time served to solidify just how powerful cinema could be like pioneering filmmakers theorized decades before.
The cinema hitting home in this many ways globally made it ripe for the dispersion of memes. It seemed by this point in time everything was being communicated visually. When things are communicated visually there is an image to go with a concept, thus making those two things associate with each other. This is very powerful because when two things join together they more easily remembered and transmitted than they would be separately. For example, the Inuit documentary fostered the memes what the culture of that obscure part of the world is like. Even though the truth was tinkered with, people associate the Inuit with hunting with spears over guns. This promoted the meme that Inuit live this life and since the distribution channels are larger than the Inuit actually telling the world their way of life, the directors version is the meme of their life that survives. This concept strikes me about memes in the cinema because someone else’s take can survive in other’s minds because they have the capacity to spread the meme.
Triumph of the Will was an excellently made Nazi propaganda documentary that director Leni Riefenstahl used the film medium to convey her point. The movie really glorifies Hitler and the Nazi part. He is portrayed as some what of a messiah and he even descends from the clouds in the beginning of the film. It shows him in a plane arriving to campaign functions, which was of course a luxury in the 1930s. It also shows him greeting the general working class in Germany to promote that he was here to help the common man.
They used brilliant music, montage and cinematography so that the movie would be groundbreaking and even revolutionary. The film was produced by Hitler himself so it cannot be mistaken for not being nazi propaganda. However its obvious problems with morality, Triumph of the Will was a huge achievement in the film world.
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